UK - Forward-thinking problem solving theatre design consultancy Charcoalblue has provided full planning, technical systems design service and business planning for one of the most up to date, technically sophisticated UK training facilities for the entertainment industry.

The Charcoalblue team has used its hands on theatre and training talents to help develop The National Skills Academy (NSA) in Thurrock, Thames Gateway, which delivers industry-endorsed training for young people and professionals as well as a national centre, rehearsal and administrative space.

The £13m schem

UK - Key members of the Swedish House Mafia (SHM) crew are moving with the groove and becoming Movember Mo Bros, sprouting creative, wacky and wild selections of facial hair in the process of cultivating of eclectic array of moustaches to raise money for the Movember men's health awareness initiative.

The point of Movember is to have fun, raise money and get people talking about the often overlooked issue of men's health, specifically in relation to prostrate and testicular cancer.

The eight-strong SHM Movember team were energised by tour manager Michael 'Curly' Jobson, whose attent

Rolling On - The Rolling Stones returned to the London stage on Sunday night in the first of five concerts to celebrate their 50th anniversary. Sir Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood were joined by their original bass player Bill Wyman at the 02 Arena. Music critics hailed the rockers' return a success. Reviews of the gig described the band as "still leading the pack" and "at the cutting edge of pop".

"They have a combined age of 273, but the four Stones remain an extraordinary live proposition," John Aizlewood wrote in the Even

UK - With only four stands remaining, exhibitors need to act now to secure a presence at the fifth annual PLASA Focus: Leeds 2013, taking place at the Royal Armouries, on Tuesday 30 April and Wednesday 1 May 2013.

Following record attendance in 2012, the premier entertainment technology trade show in the North has attracted even more companies that are keen to access the 50% of visitors who do not attend any other trade show during the year.

Mark Priestley, project manager at Unusual Rigging explains the rationale behind their decision to book for the first time: "Although a co

Off Stage - Stevie Wonder has pulled out of a concert raising money for the Friends of the Israel Defence Forces. The singer had been scheduled to perform at the Los Angeles event on 6 December. In a statement, Wonder said: "I am and have always been against war, any war, anywhere."

A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is currently in place, after a week of violence in Gaza last month. But tensions still run high. This week's gala concert supports an organisation which raises money for Israeli soldiers and their families. Wonder said the United Nations had recommended c

Future Sounds - Fifteen of the most promising new music acts have been named on the BBC's Sound of 2013 longlist. Aimed at showcasing talent for the year ahead, the list was compiled using tips from 213 tastemakers, who each named their favourite three new acts.

Soul singer Michael Kiwanuka came out on top last year, with Adele, Jessie J and Ellie Goulding among past winners. The 2013 line-up includes boy-girl pop duo AlunaGeorge, Birmingham indie group Peace and Californian sisters Haim. Other acts tipped for success include all-girl post-punk band Savages, Glasgow electro-pop three-

UK - University Campus Oldham (UCO) and Oldham Coliseum Theatre are launching a Teaching Theatre Partnership that they say will "lead the way forward in offering the opportunity to study performance and technical theatre at university level, combined with experience within a professional repertory theatre".

Debbie Bridge, Head of University Campus, says: "We are very proud of the opportunity that we have created for students at University Campus Oldham. We offer 15 places on each course to generate the same experience you would have if you were part of a small theatre c

Norway - German media and broadcast specialists Studio Hamburg MCI have followed up the installation of four independently-configured BroaMan automatic routing systems for Swedish national broadcaster SVT, by specifying the same brand for an OB van fit-out at NRK in Norway.

This was the first project MCI had executed for NRK and was the result of winning a competitive tender. A BroaMan fibre solution had been in their mind right from the outset, according to project manager, Götz Ahlert.

Explaining the challenge, he said, "The task was to set up quickly, and with a minimum of

US Invasion - Adele has been named Billboard's top artist of 2012, while her hit record 21 was named top album of the year in the music magazine's annual review.The 24-year-old is the first to receive both accolades two years in a row. Londoner Adele was also named top female artist, with hip hop star Drake named top male artist. Former X Factor contestants One Direction rounded off a successful year of US invasion after being named top new artist and Maroon 5 were top group.

The honours for Adele come in a year which saw her win six Grammy awards and dominate the

Denmark - Schouw & Co., parent company of Martin Professional, has entered into an agreement with the global 'infotainment' and audio company Harman International Industries to sell Martin to Harman. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in Q1 2013.

Through this new combination of two worldwide industry leaders, Harman and Martin believe that their comprehensive offering of audio, lighting and video solutions for the live stage and events, as well as permanent venues and installations, will 'provide new, ex

UK - The APRS, in association with PLASA and the MIA, has made great progress in stimulating interest in exploring the Brazilian market since their scoping visit with the UKTI trade Mission in September. 15 UK companies have expressed interest in participating in a joint, national stand to create the best possible impression for their first time appearance in Brazil. The combined Booth/APRS/UKTI trade 'Embassy' could offer an opportunity to gain vital experience of the Brazilian market place, meet importers and distributors and make informed decisions about how to establish a foothold i

UK - PRG reports that it has created a consolidated production department, with John McEvoy taking the role of head of production from 1 January 2013.

The new department aligns the teams within PRG, focused on the installation, operation and pre-production of projects across the concert touring, theatre, corporate & TV markets. The new team is centred around PRG's SW London premises, where the company's WYSIWYG studios and demo spaces are located.

As well as site based engineers, crew chiefs and technicians, the team also includes specialists in digital media and all aspects of pre-

USA - Tait Technologies has appointed Jim Kempf as its new director of design for automated rigging, based in the Lititz, Pennsylvania office. Kempf will oversee the newly-formed winch and hoist design department, in addition to the existing track and rig design department. He will also support the permanent installation and rental/touring markets.

Joining Tait with nearly 15 years' experience at PRG Scenic Technologies, Jim's most recent positions there included director of technical design, as well as design development and estimating lead. With an impressive portfolio, he has serve

World - Stage Technologies flew three major recording artists on three continents during a 24 hour period on the weekend of 8-9 December 2012.

The first gig took place in Dubai on Saturday 8 December at the Closing Ceremony of the World Parachuting Championships. Katy Perry performed at the show and flying during her entrance suspended under a prop parachute. To fly the star in over the audience the Stage Technologies rentals team used a two way bridle, two BT290 winches, a Nomad desk with PC Wing backup, and an AU:tour control rack.

That same night in Las Vegas saw rapper and boxin

UK - The Association of British Theatre Technicians took the opportunity of its annual Christmas Party last Friday, hosted by Gold Industry Supporter Group member ETC, to bestow its top honour, the ABTT Fellowship, on Jason Barnes and Bill Dudley.

The ABTT Fellowships, given only to individuals who "have rendered signal service to the technical aspects of the art of the theatre", were unanimously endorsed by the ABTT Council at its last meeting.

Jason Barnes is for many synonymous with the National Theatre's Cottesloe, having staged over 350 productions, during his time as

UK - The team at LSi will be taking a break now until the 2nd January 2013. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank all our readers for following LSI Online news throughout 2012 and wish you a very happy holiday season, however you might be celebrating.

The daily online news will resume on Wednesday 2 January.

Merry Christmas!

(Claire Beeson)

Theatres of the Year - Shakespeare's Globe and Sheffield Theatres have been named as London theatre of the year and regional theatre of the year in The Stage 100 Awards 2013. Four other categories were also announced. The Union Theatre in Southwark won fringe theatre of the year, Glasgow-based A Play, A Pie and a Pint won producer of the year and ALRA North won school of the year.

Meanwhile, the Unsung Hero award returned this year with two winners. Anne McNulty was recognised for her work as casting director of the Donmar Warehouse, while Chris Isherman was recognised for his work as

UK - Event, production and communication company, R&B Group, is celebrating its 21st year in business and a 25% increase in sales on the first half year compared to the same period in 2011.

The company head office is located in Newcastle and a further branch in Yorkshire, however R&B Group reports that new work is coming increasingly from outside of the region.

Despite tough market conditions R&B Group has expanded its national profile and grown the business. The company believes that competitive rates make them an attractive option for national event organisers. The return to growt

UK - A.C. Special Projects (ACSP) has supplied Brand Pilot Limited, a strategic marketing consultancy based in Oxford, UK, with a complete touring audio and lighting solution for the promotional stand used at race circuits across the UK supporting Tesco's sponsorship of the MG KX Momentum Race Team.

The 10 x 15m structure has been appearing throughout the 2012 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) racing season, including visits to the Brands Hatch, Donington Park and Silverstone circuits.

The all-new MG Motor UK team main sponsors are Tesco's Momentum fuel and KX Energ

USA - Scott Davies, vice president of marketing at the American DJ Group of Companies, has resigned his position and retired from the firm after more than 25 years of service. Davies, who joined the company, soon after it was founded by his brother Chuck Davies, served ADJ in a variety of positions through the years and was involved in many of its outstanding achievements as it grew into an industry leader. He received many awards for his contribution to the company and the DJ industry, including most recently a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2006 Mobile Beat Show.

"Scott made

UK - Following on from the successful launch of the Green Festival Alliance's practical guide to sustainable power at outdoor events, they will be hosting a seminar at the forthcoming Event Production Show entitled 'Innovations in Power: Reducing Costs and Carbon'.

Alongside presentations from four industry experts, the seminar will also include a comprehensive overview of the guide, which was published in December 2012 and was designed to bring together the Powerful Thinking Campaign research initiative, which monitored generators at eight festivals last summer, and extensive feedbac

USA - The Long Reach Long Riders have confirmed the route for their 10th annual charity motorcycle ride. The rolling landscapes, deep forests and huge water of the upper midwest will serve as the backdrop for the 2013 version of the LRLR ride, which has been dubbed '10 Great Years, 5 Great Lakes.'

The riders will gather in Cleveland on 28 June, and head out early the next morning for a counter-clockwise tour of Lakes Erie, Michigan, Superior, Huron and Ontario before returning to Cleveland eight days later.

During those eigth days, the riders will visit 4,000-year-old sand dunes, st

UK - Entertainment industry training centre Backstage Academy has released dates for its new year short courses at its base in Wakefield, West Yorkshire.

Those looking to acquire new skills or re-qualify in backstage disciplines for live events can now book on to one of the following courses via www.backstage-academy.co.uk:

Rigging Course, Wednesday 16 - Thursday 17 January

Event Safety Passport (SPA) Course, Wednesday 27 February

Stage Pyrotechnics Course, Thursday 28 February

The two-day Rigging Course takes place in the arena-sized studio on site at LS-Live and is tutored b

UK - The Racecourse Newbury hosted BBC Stargazing Live on 9 January, where 1,500 budding astronomers put into practice everything Professor Brian Cox had taught them throughout the series with experts on hand for demonstrations and to answer any questions.

The racecourse was one of 12 locations in the UK chosen as the beacon of the South for its accessibility and flexibility. The event took place in the Grandstand which offers over 1000sq.m of pillar free floor space, ideal for the array of practical activities taking place.

Each of the three floors represented a different zo

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